As widely known, the endovascular treatment is carried out inside vessels in order to treat circulatory diseases in blood vessels, arteries, or veins.
Sclerotherapy is the name given to the method that consists of the injection of some product into varicose veins in order to sclerose them.
Today, a liquid widely used in this method is the hypertonic glucose. It is often used separately in a concentration of 75% or lower (50%), with the addition of another substance to increase its sclerosing capacity.
The foam is applied in this context, that is, in order to increase the sclerosis capacity. It consists of the mixing of a medication, currently Polydocanol or tetradecil-sulphate, mixed with regular air and then vigorously agitated to form a dense foam that, when injected in the varicose vein, remains in contact with it for a longer period for being denser than the liquid, thereby increasing its sclerosing capacity and enabling the treatment of varicose veins larger than 0.4 cm in diameter.
In current treatments, a liquid or foam is used and referred to as sclerosants, which are injected through needles of several sizes, depending on the size of the vein to be treated. This liquid or foam causes an alteration in the blood vessel wall cells that later causes its occlusion. When the liquid or foam remains in the circulation, it is diluted by the blood and loses its concentration and effect.
The foam used today is produced in a homemade way, using syringes, a three-way key, regular air, and a liquid, This foam contains irregular, large bubbles, which dilute its density and cohesion. Consequently, this homemade foam dilutes more easily inside the blood stream and loses its function, which is to lesion the internal wall of the varicose vessel. That is, it is less effective when compared with foam with microbubbles.
In order to obtain the microbubbles, a chemical sclerosing foam of good quality has to be prepared with a detergent solution and physiological gases under properly calibrated pressure that, when injected in the vessel, provides better density and higher efficacy in the treatment of larger varices. The use of physiological gases allows physicians to use a higher quantity of foam in each treatment session with higher safety, providing better and quicker results in the proposed treatment. This new technique using foam with microbubbles is less invasive, does not require resting periods, and the patient does not have to interrupt its daily activities as the procedure is not surgical.